Expensive havens on both sides of Wisconsin River

Art lovers gravitate to the river's Iowa County side in Wisconsin's southwest corner, while architecture buffs typically prefer the Sauk County side, realty agents say. Their target properties differ sharply, but their price range is similar -- expensive.

Iowa County's Mineral Point, settled in 1827 for lead mining and stone building, evolved into an Arts and Crafts mecca since mining's demise more than a half-century ago. The entire city, population 2,615, is on the National Register of Historic places, courtesy of its carefully preserved steep, narrow streets lined with stately Victorian and Federal homes and sturdy stone "miners' cottages."

"We have people from Chicago and Milwaukee, watching the listings in Mineral Point, watching and waiting. They know things move fast," said Nancy K. Smith, realty agent in First Weber Group's Dodgeville office.

How fast? A week or less for pedigreed properties, she said.

There are two kinds of properties in Mineral Point: "taken care of, and it will cost you money, or run down, and it will cost you money to fix up," Smith said. "For a restored property, it's $250,000 or above, with the emphasis on the above. And don't expect a large yard. Some don't even have garages."

Sauk County's Spring Green, near Taliesin, the estate of 20th Century architect Frank Lloyd Wright, draws aficionados of the horizontal homes built under his tutelage or philosophy. Historians consider Wright one of America's greatest architects.

"It's the special things that really sell -- if you can find one. It's homes by Frank Lloyd Wright or his son-in-law or someone who used to work for him," Smith said. Wright knockoffs abound, so savvy buyers insist on proof of authenticity -- and authenticity may cost $1 million or more.

Spring Green, population 1,444, is a tiny real estate market -- and the stock of Wright or Wright-esque properties, even tinier. Some buyers grab their opportunity and buy when the right house comes on the market, even if, as high-level executives or harried professionals, they can't immediately enjoy it, said Stan Hill, office manager at Stark Company Realtors in Stoughton.

Hill recounted the case of a Chicago TV station executive, whom he wouldn't identify. "She owns one of those Frank Lloyd Wright-esque places east of Spring Green," he said. "It's a $750,000 home, and she barely gets there. But for her, it's a very good setup. She says, `This is where I go to wind down.'"